Fear
by acciorobin
Summary: The year is 2022. Voldemort is dead, but is he the only thing to be afraid of? 8 of the most intelligent and able students at Hogwarts are picked by a professor of the mind to be put to the test, but of what? The teens are thrown into turmoil as their worst nightmares come to life. Will they survive? Or will the fear take over their minds? Most importantly, what are you afraid of?
1. First

_Hello, there! This is a rather different story than your usual next gen fanfic, but I hope you stick with me though it! I was inspired by many things to write this, and am very excited to continue! Please tell me whether or not something isn't clear enough! I know the first few chapters might be a bit confusing...And please tell me what you think! This is an OC/OC Albus/OC next gen fic. _

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own any of J.K's characters or ideas, only my own. **_  
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Meg frowned and let herself be pushed along with the other students in the crowd that were making their way to the Great Hall. She didn't know what was happening.

_-Maybe it's an emergency assembly?-_

_-I heard that Harry Potter was hear with news!-_

_-Bad news?-_

_-Will you stop pushing!?-_

"I don't have a good feeling about this."

Meg looked to her right at the voice and saw her best friend shake her head and blow her blonde hair away from her face. She couldn't help but agree. It was a normal Tuesday evening at Hogwarts, a week back from the summer holidays, when everyone had been called down to the Great Hall immediately for some news.

_What could the news be? _Meg thought to herself. She yelped quietly when a 7th year pushed her out of her way roughly and shrunk under her gaze. She grabbed Chloe's hand and stayed behind her best friend, feeling safer. She hated being in crowds. There was no where to breath, or think, and her skin was itching from feeling so much contact with the other students, who were sweating and shouting loudly because of the current situation.

After what seemed like hours they had reached the doors of the hall and everyone rushed to their houses tables, obviously wanting to be with their friends when the news was told. Meg sat down opposite Chloe on the Gryffindor table and looked around with her in search of their two other friends. It didn't take long to spot the tall brunette and the black-haired hyperactive girl who were already making their way over to Meg and Chloe.

"What do you think is going on? Everyone keeps saying it's something to do with the Ministry!" Amanda basically jumping next to Meg on the bench and put her hands out on the table, looking eagerly on to her friends.

"It could be anything really, we shouldn't believe anything until they tell us exactly what it is," Michael pointed a finger at a pouting Amanda and sat next to Chloe.

Meg nodded at what he said and looked around the hall for any sign or clue of what was going to be told to the whole school. She could see the nervous first years, huddling together and most likely reassuring each other that everything was alright. The second to fourth years seemed like they were trying to act calm, and pretend that this is all exciting them, but from what Meg could see they looked scared stiff. The fifth to seventh years were much like Meg and her little group of friends, just curious as to what was happening and making up rumours that could possibly make the little ones start to cry.

She still wasn't feeling comfortable with the amount of noise and the atmosphere that was in the hall. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around her waist and slouched downwards a little, trying to stop the contact that she was feeling from the people rushing past her.

Chloe obviously seemed to notice and she put a hand on her Meg's saying, "Hey, the noise will quiet down in a minute, don't worry about it," she smiled kindly and Meg loosened up a bit, nodding in gratitude.

She was so grateful for having Chloe Parker as her best friend, and felt bad for never being able to tell her. Even though Chloe was stunning and could pull of as being related to any of the Veela siblings, she decides to put up with Meg's irrational issues and shyness. She puts up with her insecurities and occasional breakdowns. Sometimes, Meg dares to think that Chloe is just friends for her out of pity, but quickly put that thought away, not wanting to ponder on it.

"But it wouldn't hurt to think a little bigger?" Amanda questioned Michael with a smirk.

Amanda was the bubbly, cute, adorable, delicate and whatever else means the same thing as 'popular' one of the little group. She had short, black pixie cut and a Beater's body. She's also oblivious to the fact that she can turn heads by just walking into a room.

"Bigger? That isn't thinking bigger! That's just making things up!" Michael said back.

Being the only boy in the group, he did often get weird looks, and someone started a rumour last year that he was gay- but he stated it false. He's the one that keeps everyone sane and is always calm and collected, thinking logically all the time. Undoubtedly he was attractive, he had the hair that he needed to swish to the side every few minutes and girls seemed to love that about him. Frankly, it got on Meg's nerves and she was tempted to cut it off with a kitchen knife.

That was them. It had been just the four since her first year at Hogwarts, Meg, Michael, Amanda and Chloe.

Amanda was about to reply to Michael when Chloe shushed her and motioned to the front of the hall. Professor Sprout, the headmistress, was standing there, with the other teachers at the table, an unfamiliar looking man stood next to her. He looked rather disturbing. He had short, curly hair, very big glasses and a smile that looked forced and never left his face.

But what really made everyone gasp in amazement and turn around to talk about was the fact that the Minister of Magic and Harry Potter were present too! Kingsley Shacklebolt was looking on at the students without any expression, whereas Harry Potter was smiling at everyone. Meg widened her eyes. Being a muggle-born, she hadn't heard of Voldemort, the war or anything to do with Harry Potter until Chloe had filled her in, and decided that seeing the Minister and Harry Potter was the equivalent of meeting the Prime Minister and Prince William in the muggle-world.

"Quiet please, students!" Professor Sprout shouted, and her voice echoed throughout the whole hall. Silence fell quickly. "Now, as you already know, you've all be called into the Great Hall for some exciting news. I won't say more from there, but hand it over to Professor Reginald Fletcher!" She clapped and the students quickly clapped after her.

Professor Fletcher walked up to the stand, smiling modestly, and coughed before speaking.

"Thank you, Professor Sprout, for that warm welcome, and for inviting me to this wonderful school! I am a professor, as you know, but I teach at a school in the muggle-world, specifically in the apartment of the mind." His voice sounded a bit nasal, and whilst speaking he put a finger to his forehead and tapped it three times, looking around at the students closely.

Michael scoffed. "What a nutter." Meg nodded in agreement and decided she didn't like the look of this professor.

"What does he teach anyway?" Amanda whispered, mainly to Meg, knowing she was a muggle and might know.

"Something to do with the mind, so maybe in a Psychiatric ward?" Meg answered her. They all gave her confused looks and Meg continued: "Basically like a St. Mungo's but for people that have something wrong with their minds." They nodded in understanding.

Professor Fletcher started to speak again. "I am here today to inform you with a new...project, I have come up with, and thought that Hogwarts students would be the best subjects- sorry, _people, _to test it out on. Now, this project is only for 5th to 7th years, and I have looked over every single one of your files, records, backing history, health papers and grades, and have chosen 8 students, one boy and one girl from 5th year, 2 boys and 2 girls from the 6th and finally one boy and one girl from the 7th, who I think are the most able for this project. If you are chosen, consider yourselves lucky, and cleverer than your peers. You will all be informed more of the test once we have our players." He smiled rather oddly at the students again and handed it over to Professor Sprout.

"Well, isn't that excited children! Thank you for that, Professor Fletcher. We have the names of the chosen pupils on this scroll. We only saw it fit for the Minister and Harry Potter himself to read them out. The Minister will read out the 7th and one pair of the 6th year students, and Mr. Potter the others. If you're name has been called, please come up and stand facing the hall. Whenever you're ready, Minister."  
Kingsley Shacklebolt smiled at her and opened his scroll, reading it, looking around the hall and said: "From 7th year, Sylvia Rolfe from Gryffindor and John Clarke from Hufflepuff."

The hall erupted into applause, but no-one knew what for. The pupils who had just been called up stood and walked to the front of the hall, shaking hands with both the Minister and Mr. Potter. They smiled, but everyone could tell they were feeling anxious.

John Clarke was the definition of the school jock. Caption of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, body that girls would die to see for themselves and that smirk that everyone seems to melt under. It's a surprise to most people how he got into Hufflepuff. He had tanned skin, toned arms and dirty blonde hair that seemed to stick up in different directions.

Chloe sighed dreamily at him, which made Meg roll her eyes. Chloe had had a crush on him since forever, and it irritated Meg to no end when she went on and on about how perfect he was and that they were going to get married one day.

But that obviously wasn't going to happen, because John already had a girlfriend, who was Sylvia Rolfe. She had long black hair that went down her back in spirals and had the face that some girls probably hurt themselves to have. She was kind and liked very much throughout the whole school.

Shacklebolt continued after the noise had quietened down. "First pair from 6th year, Mary Finnigan from Ravenclaw and Albus Potter from Slytherin."

Silence fell in the hall. Everyone looked to Harry Potter for his reaction which was one of slight amusement and anxiousness. He had raised his eyebrows and actually checked the scroll Shacklebolt was reading to see his son's name.

After a moment of silence, everyone on the Slytherin table started to cheer, along with everyone in the Wotter clan, who were scattered here and there in the hall. Albus and Mary stood up from their tables and walked to the front of the hall, doing the same as the other too pupils. Mr. Potter patted Albus' back and gave him a small smile.

Albus Potter was the only family member of the Wotter clan to be in Slytherin, which obviously put a slightly awkward space between himself and his family. He wasn't loud, nor shy. But quiet, reserved and kept to himself. His best friend was the infamous Scorpius Malfoy, who everyone seemed to like. Being Harry Potter's son he definitely gets lots of attention, from the girls in particular. Meg heard that once it got so bad he refused to leave his dormitory, stating that he'd turn gay if it stopped the girls from following him. He had short, messy hair, much like his father's, and green eyes that everyone goes on and on about, but Meg hadn't seem them close up before.

Amanda mocked the girls sitting near to them that were talking about how hot Albus is and what they'd do to him if they had him in a closet for 24 hours. Meg laughed quietly and Michael rolled his eyes.

Mary Finnigan was the daughter of Seamus Finnigan. That was all anyone knew about her. She didn't like to have friends, and only had two close ones, (which included Rose Weasley). Her brown, wavy hair was always in a ponytail and if she didn't like you she would let you know. Meg always avoided her whenever she spotted her walking down the same corridor. She was honestly very intimidated by her.

After the clapping stopped, Shacklebolt handed the scroll to Harry Potter and his voice rang through the hall.

"Last pair from 6th year, Hannah Ashdown from Hufflepuff and Peter Gregory from Ravenclaw."

Everyone clapped, but the look on the faces of the pupils was obviously meaning 'who?' Hannah and Peter stood up and made their way to the front. Hannah had brown hair that was in a plait and looked quite short, but Peter looked almost has tall as John and his hair was just as blonde.

All the 5th year's seemed to hold their breath as Mr. Potter read the last pair to himself.

_It won't be me. _Meg thought to herself in relief. _I'm no-one. _She didn't want it to be her anyway, as she hated too much attention and like to avoid it at all costs. She closed her eyes and waited for the names to be called quickly, so she could go back to her warm bed, finish the book she was reading, have a chocolate frog and go to sleep.

"From 5th year, Meg Crow from Gryffindor and Gavin Cooper from Slytherin."

...

Meg's eyes snapped open and she looked around in horror. Her friends were just as shocked. She then remembered what Professor Fletcher had said. _"If you are chosen, consider yourselves lucky, and cleverer than your peers."_

Meg's eyes widened. She was clever, but she definitely wouldn't say she was one of the best. She looked at her friends, hoping that this was just a mistake and that Mr. Potter would apologise and say a different name. But he didn't. And the hall was silent. Chloe tugged at Meg's sleeve and encouraged her to get up.

She got up slowly; somehow she was still able to trip up on her robe and walked nervously to the front. She saw that Gavin was there already, shaking hands with the Minister. Meg looked to the floor and shyly shook both their hands. She walked to stand next to Gavin and blushed under the gaze of everyone in the school. They were all thinking the same thing as her.

_Why did she get chosen? She's not even clever!_

_Merlin, does she even try and fix her hair in the morning?!_

_She's a nobody and will fail this test._

She imagined what everyone was thinking and bit her lip, looking up a little and saw that the other chosen students were looking at her too with confusion. They didn't know who she was. All apart from Gavin probably. They did have Herbology, DADA, Transfiguration and Potions together, so she'd be a bit disappointment if he didn't know her.

"Well, those are our players! Give them a round of applause!" Professor Fletcher announced. He clapped in their direction and gave them a slightly scary smile.

She still couldn't get over this. She was chosen. Out of everyone else in her year. _Meg Crow. _Silently, she thought that maybe be was clever, otherwise she wouldn't be walking behind Harry Potter into a room, sitting down on a chair next to Professor Sprout with other very intelligent students and waiting for Professor Fletcher to speak.

Though she still thought it was a mistake. She spotted the scroll in Professor Sprouts lap, open and facing her. Slowly, without anyone looking, she craned her neck a little and let her mouth fall open a little when she saw her name in fancy lettering underneath Gavin's.

Closing her eyes tightly, she wished this was just a bad dream, and pinched herself, but winced and sighed in defeat. She looked around the room that they were in, recognising it as the Trophy Room. It was quite big and it seemed to shine because of all the gold trophies, which made Meg squint her eyes a bit. She was sitting in the middle of Gavin and the headmistress, with everyone else in other chairs which made a little semi-circle.

"First things first, congratulations! If you ever doubted your purpose for living then revaluate yourselves! You've just been picked for my project! _You_ are better than everyone else in that hall you just walked out of, you're cleverer than them and in the long run make more out of yourselves. Well done!" Professor Fletcher exclaimed with wide arm movements. Meg frowned. She was a firm believer that everyone was equally important as their neighbours, and didn't like the idea of what he told them. Suddenly he laughed such a high pitched laugh Meg had to cover her mouth to stop the giggle from erupting out of her.

"I won't bombard your little heads for much longer, as I'm sure you all want some sleep. I will tell you more information tomorrow, for now, good night!"

Meg sighed and stood up straight away, walking towards the door and saw that Hannah was just has eager as her. She put out her hand to open the door when she was stopped by a loud yell which made both girls jump out of their skin.

"And where do you think you're going?" Professor Fletcher said, walking towards them with a upset expression.

"Back to your dorms?" Hannah squeaked out.

"Oh no no _no_!" He shouted, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. "You aren't going to stay with those dumb people you call friends! You're going to stay in the place you intelligent people deserve. Your own private place in the castle! Follow me!" He started walking to a door Meg hadn't noticed before, and after exchanging confused and slightly concerned looks from the others, followed John through the door.

_My friends aren't dumb. _Meg thought to herself, as they walked down a dark tunnel. _And why weren't any of the Professors that actually worked here doing anything? Were they just going to let him call their students unintelligent?_

After walking for a bit more, Fletcher opened a door and Meg squinted her eyes for the second time that day because of the light. Her mouth formed an 'O' shape and she heard Gavin whistle in amazement. The room was wide and long in length, and had a very high ceiling, which curved outwards. The walls were white, and the windows were big enough to light the Great Hall. There was a fountain in the middle and doors along the outside. One said 'Girls' and another said 'Boys.' Other ones said things such as 'Kitchens,' 'Game room' and 'Pool.' Around the fountain were various things to a fire place, with comfy looking couches, with a few tables in another corner, and a section full of shelves with books on them.

"Yes, it is wonderful. But you only stay here one night, so make the most of it! You know which door you go into to sleep in, unless you're a boy disguised as a girl, which wouldn't be very promising, but I would've known if you were, anyway, good night!" And just like that he closed the door behind him, locked it and left.

Meg didn't think twice and went straight to the door which said 'Girls.' She didn't want to sit around and socialise. She wasn't hungry and didn't like feel going to the pool, or the gaming room. She just wanted to be with her friends. She found a room that was labelled 'Meg' and opened the door.

The walls were a dark pink, the curtains and bed covers white, and the carpet peachy. She opened the drawers and found all her clothes there, the shelf had all her books on it, her school bag was there and owl, and everything else she owned and brought with her to Hogwarts.

She stood there for a second and tried to take it all in. Tried to get the hang of being looked at as intelligent. She was with people she didn't really know and that didn't care about her. She didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow and felt as if all she needed was a light push and she'd drop right there. Her head was full. She felt dizzy. Ripping off her robe, she sat down on the bed and fingering the bed cover. _It'll be alright. _She thought. _I'll just do the stupid test and return back to my normal lifestyle of being unknown._ She nodded, looking forward to everything going back to how it should be and quickly took a shower.

Getting out of the shower, she wrapped a towel round her body and looked at herself in the mirror. In a sentence, her appearance was utterly boring. Her curly brown hair was always tied in a bun, her plain brown eyes seemed to look lost all the time, her pale skin made her look ill and her body was small. Nothing special at all.

She sighed, not standing to look at herself for much longer and changed into some pyjamas, decided to let her hair dry naturally, and got into bed, surprisingly falling asleep right away.

...

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_So, what do you think? I'd love to here from you! _

_xo  
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	2. Second

_Again, feedback is appreciated! _

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of J.K's character or ideas, only my own.**_  
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Meg opened her eyes a little, feeling hot and stuffy and sat up to pull open the curtains on her four poster bed. She frowned when she felt air pass through her fingers and her eyes opened fully. She groaned falling back on her bed and all the events from last night came back to her. After a few moments of devising plans to run away and somehow get out of doing this bloody test, she thought differently and wondered what it would be on. What she have to study? They'd obviously take off time from her every day school schedule so that she could perform at her best.

Groggily, she got out of bed and freshened up in the toilet. She messed with her hair a bit. Plait? Or pigtails? She didn't do either of them and but her hair into it's usual bun. She laid out her uniform on the bed, but wasn't sure if they were meant to wear it or not. She shrugged, thinking that she wouldn't get in trouble for putting her uniform on, and slipped her shoes on, making her way out of the girls' rooms and into the main area.

It seemed as if everyone had become friends over night apart from her. Sylvia and John were eating at a table and Gavin, Peter and Albus were talking together by the fountain. What surprised her most was Mary talking to Hannah. She realised they were all in their uniform's too and thanked Merlin she put them on.

She headed right over to the door which said 'Kitchens' and hoped that there was peanut butter somewhere. She looked in every cupboard, and once she found it she got out some toast and spread some on. She made up her mind that she'd eat the piece of toast in the kitchen's to avoid having to talk to the others. She was awful at making friends and didn't mind not having much. It was all because she was too shy for her own good, and just socially awkward. It was one of her many issues.

After taking a bite, she thought about making tea for herself. Getting a cup out, she put a teabag in the cup and warmed up the kettle with her wand.

"Why don't you come and sit with us?"

Meg jumped at the voice and cursed under her breath when the hot water burned her hand. Still muttering under her breath, she got out a pot of yoghurt, dropping some other food cans in the process, and put her stinging fingers into it.

"What're doing?" That was a different voice.

She turned around and blushed, seeing Gavin and John standing there with puzzled yet amused looks on their faces. She stared at them, but then realised John had asked her a question.

"W-well...I uh- My hand was hurting."

She blushed even darker when they laughed again.

"So that means you have to stick it into some...yoghurt?" Gavin said, smiling.

"Well, when you came in and asked me a question it startled me so I jumped and the kettle I was holding poured the boiling hot water onto my hand instead of the cup and then I put my fingers inside a yoghurt cup because that helps?"

Gavin laughed at the pot and John just frowned in utter confusion.

_Pure-bloods._ Thought Meg. She rolled her eyes, smiling a little anyway.

"So you're telling me you haven't done the yoghurt technique before?" She asked them.

"No!" They both replied.

"Well, next time you burn yourselves just pray that I'm around to fetch a yoghurt pot for you," she point a finger at the both of them and stuck out her tongue.

They chuckled at her and Meg couldn't believe she hadn't paid much attention to Gavin before. He was tall, had skin as light as hers and brown hair, but what made her insides fizzle were the two dimples that popped out of his cheeks when he laughed at her.

"So, after you're done will you come out and eat with us? We don't bite you know," John crossed his arms. "Unless that's what you're in to."

Meg laughed and blushed, looking back down at the pot. _Should I? Will it hurt to make some friends? I mean, I did just have a rather decent conversation with John Clarke and Gavin Cooper. _She looked up and nodded. "Sure thing."

"Great, see in a bit then!" John waved and walked out the door.

Meg turned back to her hand and took it out, it felt better now, and it wasn't a very bad burn, she didn't think she'd need to go to the Hospital Wing.

"Um, Meg?"

Meg turned around to the voice and saw Gavin still standing there.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry, about your hand, you need any help with it?"

She raised her eyebrows a fraction of an inch and bit back a smile. _He said sorry! _She thought. _And he asked if I need help!_

Now, Meg didn't really believe in fairytales and love stories are her least favourite genre of book to read, but right now she felt as if she was flying. No boys had ever really spoken to her, let alone apologise and offer help. Apart from Michael. But he didn't really count, did he?

"It's fine, really." She told him. "No, thankfully it's not a very serious burn, it's hardly anything at all actually, and I'll be okay. T-thanks for, you know..."

-_Caring-_

"The offer."

He nodded with a grin. "It's okay, but I'll make it up to you, I promise."  
"You don't have to, it didn't even hur-

"I want to, and I will."

She was caught of guard by his answer, and could only reply with a nod. _It's only something small, _thought Meg;_ he doesn't have to make it up to me, why is he even getting so worked up about it?_

Still in her train of thought, she put the lid back onto the pot of yoghurt, washed her hands and followed Gavin out the kitchens, her peanut butter toast in hand and forgetting completely about the tea.

Once she was out of the kitchens, she looked around and took in everyone again. Albus and Peter were still talking and now Sylvia had joined Mary and Hannah's conversation. She followed Gavin, who was making his way straight to Peter and Albus.

"Hey guys, John and I persuaded Meg to come out and sit with us," Gavin said, smiling at the boys. He hopped onto the table that they were standing at.

Meg looked to the ground and said 'hello' in a small voice.

"Hey, well, I'm sure you know who we both are," Albus said to her with a smile.

Meg frowned slightly.

"Not really, I only know your names, I don't know you are _really a_re."

Her logic and realistic mind was something that bothered her friends very much to the point where it got annoying. She didn't mean to point things like that out; to her it was just correcting people.

Albus chuckled and Peter smiled.

"She's right, actually," Gavin said. Meg could see him smirking from the corner of her eye.

"Well, why don't you get to know us," Peter spoke in a quite voice.

Meg looked at all three of them closely. Gavin was still smirking and looking at her, Peter's face had a forever innocent look on it, and his eyes were a bright blue. Albus had crossed his arms and was looking intently at Meg. She blushed under his gaze.

"Alright. Where do we start?" She answered Peter, smiling just a bit.

"How about general information first?" Gavin suggested.

"Such as...?" Albus moved his hand out to exclaim his point.

"Full name, birthdays and the like. I'll start then. My full name is Gavin Lucas Cooper and I'm turning 16 on the 23rd of October. Albus?"

He cleared his throat and Meg raised an eyebrow.

"Albus Severus Potter and I turn 17 in May."

She bit the inside of her gum to stop the giggle that was threatening to burst out of her. _Albus Severus? _

"Peter?"  
"My name is Peter Daniel Gregory, and I turn 17 in December."

He still spoke in that hushed tone, and the three of them all leaned forward an inch to hear what he was saying.

"Meg?"

She blinked and at the sound of her name. They stared at her and then she realised it was her turn.

"Oh, right. My full name is Meg Crow. I turned 16 on the 3rd of September." She said in shyly, and pulled at her sleeves.

Meg wasn't good at speaking groups of people that she didn't know, even if there were only three people.

"So Meg isn't short for anything?"

"You haven't got a middle-name?"  
"Hey! You're older than me!"  
She laughed at Gavin's last comment and his facial expression. He genuinely looked upset.

"Um, yeah, I haven't got a middle-name, and it's just Meg." Still smiling, she tucked a curl of her hair that had escaped from her bun behind her ear.

"Okay, that's out of the way, how about...Siblings? Family members?"

Meg's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. She hated talking about her family. She quickly racked her brain for an idea to get out of speaking but couldn't think of anything.

"My mum is Angelina Cooper, my dad Alex Cooper and I have two little sisters, Alice and Anna, they're twins and just turned 5."

"Oh come on! You all now _my _family, right? I'll be surprised if you don't." He raised his eyebrows and looked at Meg.

"It won't hurt anyone to say it, Albus." Gavin replied.

Albus frowned and sighed. "Fine, my dad is Harry, mum Ginerva, my older brother is James and little sister is Lily."

"My mum is Connie, my step-dad is Paul and my two older brothers are Jack and Connor."

"How about your real dad?" Albus asked bluntly.

"He left when I was a kid..." Peter said. "I don't like talking about it."

"Alright, we won't talk about it. Your turn Meg."

She looked at her shoes.

"I have a dad. His name is Adam."

After a small pause, she looked up at the boys and their expressions. They looked like they were expecting more.

"Is that it?"

Meg nodded. "Yes."  
They seemed to frown right at the same time and Meg bit her tongue to stop herself from laughing. She had a habit of laughing at the wrong times.

"You haven't got a mum?" Gavin asked.

She shook her head.

"You have to have a mum, otherwise you wouldn't be here today," Peter said, he looked confused.

Meg fiddled with her fingers.

"I _used _to have a mum. She isn't here anymore."

Gavin's eyebrows seemed to disappear in his fringe, Peter looked sympathetic and Albus frowned.

"So she's dead?"

Meg's head snapped up to Albus and frowned. "Yes, you...you didn't have to say it like that. My way made sense."

He shrugged. "They mean the same thing."  
Meg's breathing suddenly became slightly rough. She hated saying that her mother was dead. To her she wasn't dead, just 'wasn't here anymore.' It was less painful then the thought of death.

She folded her arms around her torso tightly and closed her eyes.

Talking about it was worse. When her mother had died, everyone suddenly 'understood', and they were _sorry. _Meg and her father had received sympathetic looks from everyone their neighbourhood ever since. She hated it.

"How?"

Meg's jaw clenched. "Why is it any of your business?" She snapped at Albus, surprising even herself. She rarely got angry at anyone.

Albus put up his hands in defence. "Just curious."

She looked at the three of them again and answered. "She...she fell really ill. It was really bad." That was all she said whenever someone asked her how her mother had died. Truthfully, that's all she really knew.

Gavin coughed and scratched his neck awkwardly. "Okay. Moving on..."

They seemed to forget about it and talking amongst themselves, but Meg wasn't listening and didn't want to get herself involved. She wasn't in the mood for talking to people. After staring into space for a little bit, she decided to go back to her room, thinking that they didn't have to go to lessons as they had started for the students of Hogwarts 10 minutes ago.

What she didn't know was Albus' eyes were on her the whole time.

...

"Meg, Meg are you in there? If you can hear me, you've got to come out; Fletcher is here to tell us some more stuff."

Meg closed the book she was reading and put it on her bedside table. She recognised the voice as Sylvia Rolfe and quickly put her robes back on.  
"Coming!"

She opened the door to find Sylvia there, smiling at her. Meg couldn't understand how perfect looking someone could be.

She grabbed her hand. "Come on, we're all waiting for you."

Meg blushed. "Was I holding everyone up?"

Sylvia laughed. "Sort of. It doesn't matter though, nobody cares," she reassured her.

Meg nodded and laughed as well.

They walked into the main area and sat down on chairs, which were in a semi-circle just like the night before. Fletcher was standing there, giving everyone a close look, with a map by his side, facing the group.

Meg spotted Albus looking at her from across the room and she quickly looked away.

"Good morning, students! As you probably know already, you won't be attending lessons until you have finished the test, and it will last quite a while, so I'm sure you're all happy about that!" He smiled and Meg noticed a gap in-between his two front teeth.

_How would the test last quite a while? Does he mean a whole day?_ Meg could tell everyone else was confused too.

"Now, this will be a lot to take in, but I know you'll be able to get all of it." He used his wand to point at the map.

"This is a drawing of the place you'll be sent to. I've made the setting so that it's in a hotel. You'll be in partners, your partner is the person you were called out with last night, if you didn't know, but you probably did. The two of you will walk around the hotel's floors, which are infinite, and will find three doors. These are your doors which lead to your rooms. You'll know that it's your door because you'll be pulled towards it with some sort of instinct. There are three rooms for everyone."

John put up his hand and said: "But Professor, you told us this was a _test_, not a game."

Murmurs of agreement were said and the Professor shook his head, slowly.

"This is a test of the _mind, _Mr Clarke. I told you I worked in that department last night, did I not?" He gave him a look and continued to speak, ignoring the nervous glances that were shared between the students.

"What you will find in those rooms are unique to you-

"But how do we know if we've passed the test?" Mary shouted out.

"You'll know you've passed it when you're alone."

Meg frowned. He wasn't making any sense.

"That is all to tell you. You will say farewell to your peers and then be transported to the hotel in which you will be staying in before the test starts in an hour's time." He gave them a curt nod and left the room.

After a moment of silence, Hannah spoke up. "What's inside the rooms?" She asked, everyone noticed the fear in her voice.

"Well, I guess we'll find out when we walk into them." John patted her shoulder and smiled.

"And what does he mean when we're alone?" Mary said to no-one in particular.

No-one replied. Because no-one knew.

...

Meg didn't want to do this test; she didn't want to know what was inside those three rooms. She didn't want to say farewell to her friends and she really wanted Albus Potter to stop looking at her.

"You will meet your classmates in your common rooms and have 10 minutes to say good-bye to them. Meet me right outside the Great Hall when you're done."

Fletcher shooed them off with his hands and everyone rushed to their common rooms. Gavin, John, Albus and Hannah walked down the stairs to the basement and dungeons, whilst Meg, Mary, Peter and Sylvia walked to their towers.

Meg hated good-byes. Good-byes always meant to Meg that they wouldn't see each other again, so she was known for saying 'until next time' or 'see you soon.' But never good-bye.

As she walked with Sylvia into the common room they rushed to their dorms, ignoring all the stares. She wanted to see all 3 of them of together, so she quickly pulled down her 2 girl friends and rushed them over to the 5th year boy dormitories, surprising a few of them up there, and earning a wolf-whistle which Amanda cursed to.

They stood in a small circle in the corner of the room. Meg knew that they had a dozen questions in their heads, but wanted to answer them later, as she only had a little while with them.

"Basically, I only have 10 minutes till I have to meet Fletcher down by the Great Hall, but I wanted to say that I'll see you all soon, and you don't need to worry about me, I'll be fine." She smiled at them and gave them each a hug.

"But what is this test about? What have they told you?" Michael asked.

"It's more of a game really, or so we think. He's sending us to a hotel, and we have to find three rooms which belong to us with our partner. He hasn't told us what's inside the rooms. And he said that we'll know we've passed when we're alone," she said quietly to them. She wasn't sure whether they were allowed to know, but risked it anyway.

They looked at her with worried looks.

"That doesn't sound good, Meggie. You never know what could be inside the rooms." Amanda held her hand.

"And make sure you're never alone, alright?" Chloe looked at her in the eyes.

She nodded at their words and looked at her watch.

"I...I have to go, see you lot soon." She smiled and hugged them again, not understanding why Amanda was sniffing.

"What are you crying for?" Michael raised an eyebrow.

"Because...Because...Oh but what is she doesn't come back!" She yelled.

Meg put a hand on her shoulder. "Why wouldn't I come back?"

She shrugged. "I just have a really bad feeling about all of this. It seems too dodgy."

Chloe nodded in agreement. "Well you better get going."

She smiled at the three of them again, and decided to keep the sight of them smiling at her in her head all the way back to the Great Hall.

...

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_What'd ya think?_

_xo  
_


	3. Third

_Hello! Here is chapter 3, I am currently writing the fourth, and because school has started up again I'm not sure when it will be published, as I like to spend at least 2-3 days writing each chapter. But please be patient! I will update! :) Enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I do not own J.K Rowling's work.**_  
_

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"Your things are already at the hotel. Quickly, come on, the Portkey is ready!" Professor Sprout ushered them all into the Great Hall and to a table which had a cushion on it.

"Professor, will you be coming with us?" Mary asked her. They all positioned themselves in a circle around the cushion.

She gave Mary a smile and patted her shoulder.

"No, I'm afraid I won't. I still have a school to run. Professor Fletcher is already waiting for you there. You're in safe hands."

Meg resisted the urge to laugh. She raised an eyebrow instead. Fidgeting slightly, she reached out a hand and placed it on the cushion. She wasn't comfortable being squished between Albus and Peter.

"Right, this is good-bye, students. I wish you all the best and hope to see you soon." She gave them a smile and walked out of the hall.

Suddenly it felt like Meg was being flown through the air and spinning around. She closed her eyes and it was over as soon as it started. Rubbing her head, she realised she had hit the ground and winced when she touched a spot on her head.

"Need a hand?"

Her head perked up and she squinted her eyes to see who it was against the sun. Awkwardly, she grabbed Albus' hand and nodded.

"Thanks."  
"No problem."

They looked at each other for another moment and Meg nodded again, making her way to Fletcher who was standing by the doors of the hotel.

"Finally! You're here. So, you will be sent to your rooms with your partner, and you will begin preparing for the test tomorrow morning. Tonight, we will have a ceremony and meal. Come on in."

Before they walked in Meg took a look at the outside of the hotel. It looked normal and boring. Plain white and very tall. As they walked in (on a red carpet) Meg's eyes widened.

The chandeliers were made out of gold, the walls were shinning with gold, and the doors were patterned with gold, _gold, gold and more gold. _Fletcher walked up to the reception which was on the left corner of the room. A woman was sitting behind a screen and he asked her for the 4 keys. She handed it to them and Meg wondered if they were at a muggle hotel but was proved wrong when Professor Fletcher opened a door with his wand a levitated their suitcases up the stairs.

The lobby seemed empty apart from the 10 of them. It seemed deserted. There were staircases on either side of the room and two large doors in front of them.

"Here are your keys, you can go to your rooms, socialise, talk, and make brownies, whatever friends do together. If you're hungry there are kitchens on every floor, so you don't have to go far for them. I will call you when I need you to get ready for tonight."

He gave the keys to the boys in the pairs and walked in the opposite direction of them through a door Meg didn't see before.

She followed Gavin up the stairs. "What floor are we on?" She asked him.

He frowned. "We're at the top."

"At the top? We'll be very high then; did you see how tall this building was?" She laughed quietly.

"Yeah...I did."

She frowned and looked at his face. He was still looking at the key with an anxious look on his face.

"Are you okay?"

They both stopped walking on the stairs and everyone brushed past them to their rooms. He suddenly seemed to realise Meg was standing next to him and moved his gaze from the key to her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

She bit her lip but shrugged and started to walk up the stairs again.

"If you say so."

They walked for about 20 more minutes before they reached the top floor and Gavin looked for their door. He still seemed to be anxious as to where he stepped and when they finally got into their room he rushed to close the open window that was there and was breathing heavily.

Meg was concerned now.

"Gavin, what's wrong?"

He coughed. "Nothing!"

Meg was startled at his sudden yell and crossed her arms. "Whatever."

She hated not knowing what was bothering her friends. She thought Gavin as a friend and loved to help them when they were in need. Trying to get her mind off of it, she walked around their hotel room. They had two bedrooms each with its own bathroom, a walk in closet with all their clothes and a few new ones already hanging up and a living area with a few sofas, a coffee table and a Wiz TV.

After getting used to everything, she changed out of her school robes and into a pair of jeans and a long sleeved blue jumper, letting her hair down from the tight bun it had been in all day. She put her wand in her back pocket and knocked on Gavin's door. He'd been in there since they had walked into the room and Meg was slightly worried.

"Hey, Gavin? You there? I'm going to check out the food in the kitchens. You want anything?"

After about 5 seconds she reached out her hand to grab the doorknob but before she could get hold of it, it was sprung backwards to reveal a red eyed Gavin.

"Have you been crying?" Meg put out her hand to see if there were any tears but he grabbed it and put it down.

"No. Of course not. Will you wait one minute? I want to come with you." He looked at her and she nodded.

"Yeah, sure." She smiled and walked to sit on the sofa.

_He was definitely crying. Why would he be crying? Did I say something? _Meg thought. She sighed and put her head in her hands. _Why am I even bothering? I only met him properly two days ago. _

"Right. Let's go."

She looked up at the voice and stood up quickly. Gavin had changed into a pair of jeans and black polo shirt. Meg thought he looked quite attractive and blushed, walking to the door to hide it.

"Any idea where the kitchens are?" She asked him as they walked around the top floor.

"Nope. He didn't tell us where, so we'll just have to explore ourselves." He chuckled and Meg smiled.

Each floor had about 40 rooms and it seemed like they were going round in circles. Every corridor looked the same; red carpets, white walls and peach doors. The only thing that stopped Meg from screaming out in frustration was the numbers written in gold on the doors which told her she was actually getting somewhere.

"There it is." Meg looked at Gavin from the corridor she was looking down and saw a door which said 'Kitchens' in fancy lettering.

They jogged over to the door, both of them suddenly feeling hungry and the smell of cakes and sugar hit her like a smack in the face when they walked in. She breathed in deeply. The scent of sugar was one of her favourite smells.

The kitchens were similar to any other kitchen, ovens, grills, cupboards, cabinets and the like. The stations were you cooked your food were made of oak, and the walls were brown, the floor wooden, and the cupboards brown too.

"So, do we just take anything we like?" Gavin asked, picking up an apple from a fruit basket and opened his mouth to take a bite.

"Yes, anything. No fee either." The new voice made them jump and Meg put her hand on her wand.

They turned around to the voice and saw a very round and large lady standing there. She had red cheeks, curly blonde hair and was wearing a blue summer dress with an apron. She must've noticed that she had startled them and laughed.

"Oh, did I scare you? I'm ever so sorry, my dears. Let me introduce myself. Anna Fields. I cook for this floor. You two are...?"

"I'm Gavin and she's Meg. Nice to meet you."

He put out his hand and she shook it. "Nice to meet you too, Gavin."

Anna looked over at Meg, expecting her to put out her hand too.

"Hello," she said softly. She hesitantly put out her hand and smiled a little.

Once Anna had let go of her hand, she smiled at them both.

"Is there anything you'd like to eat? I can make anything, tell me what you want, and you'll have it in 30 minutes max."

Meg thought about it for a moment.

"Could I have cupcakes, please?"

Gavin raised an eyebrow. "Cupcakes? Really?" He laughed.

She shrugged and smiled. "Yeah. I like them. What's so bad about cupcakes?" She titled her head to the side.

Gavin looked at her and smiled. "Nothing. I just thought you'd like a meal first?"

She shook her head. "Not in the mood. Cupcakes sound nicer."

Anna laughed. "Cupcakes it is then, my love. And you Gavin?"

"I'll just have some of hers."

Anna nodded. "You can sit down by those tables or I can send them to your room."

"We'll be in our room," Meg said. "We're room 976."

"Alright, they'll be done in 30 minutes." Then she disappeared behind another door.

...

"What do we do now?"

"We wait for our cupcakes."

Gavin rolled his eyes and laughed.

After they left the kitchens they went back to the room and sat down opposite each other on the sofas.

"But how do we kill 30 minutes?"

She put a leg over the other and shrugged. Gavin was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and looking at Meg.

"Talk?"

"About what?"

"What was up with you when we came into this room? Why were you crying earlier?"

Gavin sighed and leaned back onto the sofa, scratching his eyebrow.

"It's nothing. Really."

"Look, I know we've only started to properly become friends, but you can tell me." She smiled and titled her head sideways.

He looked at her closely, as though he was thinking whether or not he could tell her, but his jaw clenched and he suddenly seemed to snap.

"I know! But it was something stupid and childish, and I _don't _want to talk about it!"

Meg blinked a few times out of shock and crossed her arms over her small body tightly.

"Fine. We won't talk about it. I only wanted to help," she practically whispered.

Meg hated being shouted at. Shouting was too loud; she liked things to be quite and calm.

Gavin's face softened at her words and sighed. "I know, I'm sorry, can we just talk about something else?"

She was surprised at his quite voice. It sounded pleading. She nodded and moved to sit next to him.

"Well, we barely know each other, even though we've been at school together for the past 5 years, let's play 20 questions. I'll start. Favourite colour?"

"Blue. Favourite subject?" He moved so that his head was next to her knees and legs hanging of the side of the sofa.

"Charms. Best friend?"

"Benjamin Goyle. You?"

"Chloe Parker. Most embarrassing moment at Hogwarts?" She smirked.

He glared at her and crossed his arms. Sighing, he said. "It happened last year. I was walking up the Grand Staircase to go to Defence, but I tripped up the stairs and I grabbed a girl's backside on the way down to try to stop myself from falling. It didn't work. She screamed at me for a bit and walked off. She hasn't looked at me since."

Meg stayed silent and bit her lip.

"You can laugh, I won't kill you."

She threw her head back and laughed loudly. "That's unbelievable! Merlin that must've been funny to see!" She shook her head and giggled.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Ben doesn't stop reminding me about it every morning. What's your most embarrassing moment?" It was his turn to smirk.

She blushed and played with her fingers.

"Oh come on! You have to tell me! I told you mine." He sat up and faced her with his legs crossed.

"I was in my third year and fancied...Louis Weasley."

Gavin's jaw dropped. "No way."

"Yes way. Anyway, I had just turned 14 and thought I was a woman and all that jazz. I saw him walking to the Great Hall and decided to tell him I liked him, but ended up tripping and I hit my head on a door...Which lead to the boys toilets. Everyone heard and saw me and I remember pretending to be knocked out so I wouldn't have to see their faces."

Gavin laughed and Meg hit him on the head.

"I mentally died of embarrassment. I haven't been able to have a proper conversation with Louis without one of his friends laughing at me." She crossed her arms and pouted at Gavin who was still laughing. She hit him again and laughed along with him.

Meg stood up when she heard a knock on the door and rushed to open it, feeling famished. She hungrily grabbed the levitating plate of cupcakes and put them on the coffee table, munching on one and holding another in her free hand.

"These taste so good," she said with her mouthful.

They had white icing and were 8 of them before Meg had eaten two. They had spelled out _Gavin + Meg. _

She picked up another one and sat next to Gavin again.

"My turn again. Okay...What do you like to do for fun?" He asked, licking the icing of his finished cupcake off of his fingers.

"I like to read, sleep, draw, cook and think. You?"

"I'm usually playing my guitar."

"Really? You can play?" She sat up straighter.

"Yeah. Why, are you surprised?" He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"No, it's just...Well, yeah I'm surprised." She said and laughed. "You don't look like someone who would play. Did you bring your guitar with you? I want to hear you play!"

"Maybe...I'll think about it."

"Oh please?" She put her hands together and pouted.

He studied her and put his half eaten cupcake down. "Fine."

Meg beamed and punched the air. He laughed and walked inside his room, walking out with a black acoustic guitar.

He sat back down, placing his guitar on his lap and started to play.

It was slow, calm and Meg closed her eyes. His fingers went up and down the guitar as if he'd been born playing. It sounded lovely. She knew it was something her father and mother would slow dance to if she was alive. They loved to dance.

She opened her eyes to see Gavin staring intently into hers. The atmosphere seemed to change instantly. His playing became slightly lazy and off key and his head was leaning in dangerously close to Meg's. She could feel his hot breath on her lips and felt a shiver run down her back. He put a hand on the back of her neck. They were less then a millimetre away then-

"Hey there- _Whoa, _am I interrupting something?" The nasal voice of Professor Fletcher made both of them jump to either sides of the couch. Gavin coughed awkwardly.

"No, Professor. Was there something you wanted?" Meg blinked at how high her voice had gone. She stood up to go to Fletcher.

"Yes, well, I was gathering everyone up- he pointed at the group behind him –and going to tell everyone about tonight. You were the last on my list as you're right on thetopof this _very _tall building." He said, looking at Gavin and smiling unkindly.

Meg looked at Gavin and saw him giving Fletcher quite a frightening glare. Everyone piled into the room and sat down on the sofas. She greeted them all briefly and sat down. Albus sat next to her on her right and Gavin was on her left. She could sense Gavin was still feeling angry and held his little finger with hers. His head snapped down at their hands and she smiled comfortingly at him. She didn't know why he was annoyed, but knew that she didn't like it that he was.

She felt a pair of eyes drill into her back and leaned back on the sofa, ignoring Albus' gaze. So far, he had done nothing but make Meg slightly agitated.

"Tonight, we will have a ceremony, which is basically just you lot dressing up nicely and walking into the hall on the bottom floor. Then we have the meal! I will talk a bit before you start to stuff your faces. It'll only be the 9 of us in the room, but the whole of the Wizarding world will be watching us."

Meg's eyes widened as big as saucers.

"Like, live?" Albus asked.

"Yep, there will be a screen at the Ministry, Hogwarts, Durmstrang and other places were there will be many people, and one at Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley so anyone who doesn't work or attend any of the above can watch it at a public place."

Meg nibbled on her nails. She didn't like the idea of her face being plastered basically everywhere in the Wizarding world. She could barely handle seeing it in the mirror.

"So when do we actually start the test?" Peter asked him.

"In a few days. You'll have time to use the actually really cool features the hotel has and have fun together." His face seemed to scrunch up as if he'd just bitten into a lemon when he said the word 'fun' and Hannah let out a giggle.

"Is that it, Sir?" John smirked.

"Yes. That's it. The ceremony will start at 7; you've got to be outside the two big doors by 6:30. Its 5:30 right now, so you have time to get ready." He put out his hand as a good-bye and left the room.

"Right, well, we have an hour to get ready, Hannah, Meg, Mary, when you've all showered, bring over your make-up and the dress you're wearing to my room. I'm on the 15th floor, room 567." She sent the girls a warm smile and dragged John out the room. Mary and Hannah left, with their partner's behind them and once they were gone Meg stood up to go and have a shower.

"Meg wait," Gavin held onto her hand softly.

She turned her head to him on the sofa and smiled. "Yeah?" She sat back down again.

Before she could say anything else Gavin had moved so that he was hovering over her and pressed his lips roughly on hers. Her eyes widened in surprise but soon enough she closed them and kissed him back. He had his hands on either side of her face and hers were lost in his hair. She hadn't kissed anyone before, but it definitely seemed like he had. He straddled her and pulled back, both of them breathing heavily.

His face broke out into a smile and Meg couldn't stop herself from poking his dimples.

"You're cute," she said.

"You're cuter," he pecked her nose and she giggled.

He leaned his forehead on hers and closed his eyes.

"Look Meg, I know we've only just got to know each other and stuff, but I think I really like you, so I'm willing to give this a try." He opened his eyes and Meg looked deeply into his.

She smiled and nodded. "Me too. And just between the two of us, that was my first kiss." She grinned sheepishly and blushed.

"Really?"

Her face fell. "Why is that surprising?"

"It's just that..." He studied her for a moment. "It didn't feel like it was.

She blushed, pushed him off of her and stood up. "Well, I need to have a shower and go over to Sylvia's room. I will see you later, alright?"

He stood up with her and pecked her lips. "See you later."

...

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_Review please, it only takes two seconds, but they really help!_

_xo _


	4. Fourth

_Thank you for the reviews! Sorry for the wait, I hope this chapter compensates for it. :P Enjoy!_

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After her shower, Meg wrapped a towel around her body and opened up her wardrobe. She only had about 3 dresses because she never thought she'd have to actually wear them. Obviously she was wrong and she laid them out on the bed.

The first one was purple, knee length and had a halter neck. The second was red, strapless and looked like it would go just above her knees, and the last one was black, strapless and went above her knees. Personally, she liked the purple one, but knew the other girls would force the black one onto her.

She threw her underwear on and a strapless bra; slipped on some shorts, a one shouldered top and her flip flops. She didn't see the need to get all fancy till she got to Sylvia's room. Her black dress in one hand, make-up bag in the other, she started walking down the stairs to the 15th floor.

As she walked down the corridors, she thought about Gavin. She knew she liked him too and didn't see the harm in giving it a go, they had lots of time to get to know each other, and it would certainly be an experience for her.

Sighing contently, she knocked on the door numbered 567 and slouched onto on leg slightly. In less than a second Sylvia swung open the door and pulled Meg in.

"Finally you're here! We've all fixed each other up, now it's just we've got to worry about! Let's see your dress then."

Meg handed over her dress and sat down on Sylvia's bed. Hannah was wearing a peach coloured dress that flowed down to her knees and had halter neck; Mary was wearing a strapless floral dress that was patterned with flowers and Sylvia was wearing a blood red strapless dress that hung to her sides and went just above her mid-thigh. To Meg they all looked stunning.

Quickly she slipped into her dress and let them all fuss over her, laughing slightly. Hannah was doing her hair, Sylvia her make-up and Mary was looking for a pair of shoes that would go with her dress- she settled for a simple pair of black heels. Sylvia stepped back and looked at Meg as if she were something she had just painted and sighed dramatically.

"I am amazing," she breathed out.

Mary rolled her eyes and laughed. "You do look nice, Meg."

Mary's mouth opened wide with shock. "Nice? _Nice?! _She looks like she's just come out of _Witch Weekly_!"

Hannah sighed at Sylvia. "You haven't even given the girl a chance to look at herself- here you go." She handed Meg a mirror and her eyes widened.

Her skin looked even paler than earlier, but it wasn't the kind of ill pale anymore, more of a china doll pale, and her red lips helped with that a lot. Sylvia hadn't put much eyeliner on her, but she had put on enough to make her dark brown eyes pop out and look big. Her hair was let out in its ringlets and flowed down her back and she blushed a little.

"Thank...Thank you." She smiled shyly at the older girls.

They beamed down at her and Hannah grabbed her hand. "C'mon then! Let's show the Wizarding world how fabulous we look tonight."

Laughing, together they walked down the stairs, holding each other's hands and giggling whenever one of them tripped a little. When they finally reached the bottom floor they walked towards the giant doors and saw that all four boys were there already.

John smirked and reached out for Sylvia's hand, who took it eagerly. Peter's eyes seemed to bulge out of its sockets, Albus only raised an eyebrow but Meg swore she saw a smile on his lips. Hannah and Mary went of to their partners and Meg stood in front of Gavin, shyly tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Hi," she said, looking to the floor.

He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles, making her bite her lip and blush furiously. She finally looked over at what he was wearing. A black suit and a black tie. Simple, but it made Meg's inside flutter.

"Hi," he replied and smiled at her.

They stared at each other for another moment and Meg giggled quietly. She felt pretty. Very pretty.

"Alright, everyone! I'm glad you're all here on time. Once the doors open, you're live. Everyone can see you. We're going to walk in with me at the front, then the 7th years, first pair of 6th, second pair of 6th, then the 5th years. When you walk in you will wait at the doors for a moment so the commentators can introduce you, then you will sit were your name is. Understand? Good. Get in order, quickly!"

Everyone rushed to get in line, Meg ended up behind Hannah and Gavin behind Peter. She suddenly felt nervous. What if she tripped? What if she did something stupid? She bit the inside of her gum and played with a piece of her hair, something she did when she was nervous or scared.

Gavin seemed to notice how she was acting because he bent down to her height and kissed her lips softly, taking her off guard. "You'll be fine. You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear and smiled encouragingly at her.

She kept her eyes on him and nodded, not trusting her self to speak and sighed out of happiness.

"3...2...1...We're live!"

The doors opened loudly and the light from the room made Meg squint her eyes slightly. Slowly, they walked forward, she couldn't see properly what it was like inside because of her height, but before she knew it she was standing at the front of the room with a levitating camera a few feet in front of her.

Not sure what to do, she bit her lip but spotted Fletcher making a semi circle with his finger and quickly smiled at the camera, understanding his gesture. She smiled a little more and when the camera moved from in front of them she walked inside, looking for her seat.

The room reminded her of the Great Hall slightly, but without windows and only a small round table in the middle of the room instead of 4 long ones.

She sat down, Albus on her left, Peter on her right and Sylvia opposite her. She smiled at Peter and whispered a 'hello.'

She rubbed her hands underneath the table and waited for Professor Fletcher to speak.

"You look rather lovely tonight."

Meg jumped but hid it and looked over at Albus, blushing.

"So do the rest of the girls here."

"Yes, but it looks like you actually _tried_."

Meg was taken back and raised an eyebrow, confused. He confused her. Usually, she was good at observing and reading people, but he was acting like a book that was too irritating to even look at. She wasn't going to deny that _he _also looked lovely too, wearing a black suit and waist coat with a emerald green tie.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand."

"Oh I think you do," he snapped back. He motioned over to Gavin with his eyes and Meg crossed her arms. Albus snickered.

"So, are you two a thing now or what?"

Meg frowned and sent him a glare. She hadn't ever been this way with anyone before, but right now Albus was pulling on her strings like a child and she did not appreciate it.

"What's it to you?" She asked, and then slowly smirked. "Jealous?" She knew he wasn't, no-one would be.

"Of you? No, not really. Gavin isn't my type, you know?" He replied, smirking back.

Meg clenched her jaw and sat back on her seat, ignoring him completely.

"Hello, witches and wizards! I hope you are all feeling wonderful this evening, or morning, whatever it is for you wherever you are in the world. I am delighted to have you with us whilst we celebrate these brilliant minded students on what they will be doing in just a few days time." Fletcher spoke, everyone in the hall feel silent and listened to him speak, hoping that they'd get some more information on the test. "The test they will be doing in a few days is not like any ordinary one, it isn't a test of the brain, but a test of the mind."

Meg frowned and whispered his last words to herself, confused. _How would he test our minds?_

"I want to see how far these clever children can last with what they will be given. Now, I hope you all stick with them throughout their journey, as it will be all broadcasted live, and enjoy it as much as myself and these students surely will. Let's eat!" He clapped his hand twice and food appeared on the table just as it does at Hogwarts and Meg felt slightly homesick- or rather, school sick.

She filled her plate with roast beef, some vegetables and filled her cup with pumpkin juice, eating slower than usually; reminding herself many people were watching her eat. It was silent for a little while, apart from the sounds of knives and forks hitting plates and one or two voices.

"So, let's go around the table, tell us something about yourself that not many people know," Fletcher said. "I'll start, not people know that I received O's for all my subjects whilst I was at school, John, you're up," he pointed at him.

Meg bit her lip and tried to think of something for herself.

"Well...I have this rather odd issue where I can't walk down or up a stair case with anyone, it's got to be only me," he laughed quietly.

"Why? Your ego that big that you need a whole staircase for it?" Mary chipped in and everyone laughed.

"No, it's not that," John chuckled.

"Then what is it, John?" Fletcher wiped his hands on a tissue and looked at him intently.

John stared back at him for a moment in a slightly challenging way, and then he finally said: "No reason."

Fletcher nodded slowly and smirked. "Of course."

"Mary, how about you?"

"The Sorting Hat was considering putting me in Hufflepuff," she said.

Everyone was shocked and many gasps went round the table.

"Really? That would be strange, seeing as you aren't...Hufflepuff-ish," Sylvia said.

"I know, that's what I told the hat, and it put me in Ravenclaw instead."

"Hannah?"

"I've never stepped a foot in the Forbidden Forest."

"Why not?" Fletcher asked, again with that creepy look.

Hannah's eyes widened. "For the obvious reason- It's forbidden."

"I've been there," Albus said.

Many voices seconded his comment and Hannah shrugged.

"Sylvia?"

"I became an aunt last week!" She exclaimed happily.

Meg smiled and everyone congratulated her.

"What's the baby called?" Peter asked.

"My sister named her Annabeth, she has a thing for long names," Sylvia rolled her eyes and smiled.

"That is lovely, Gavin?"

"I once left my little cousin on my broom in the air for an hour or two, he was scared stiff and didn't know how to come down, it was funny to watch," he laughed and everyone shook their heads at him.

"Why? Is he scared of heights?" Fletcher said.

Gavin stopped laughing and frowned. "I suppose."

"Peter, your turn."

Peter looked around the table and scratched the back of his neck, obviously in thought. "I used to have a pet snake."

"Why don't you have it anymore?" John asked.

"It got out of it's box and just left," he shrugged. "I didn't even like it much, it scared my mum." He laughed shyly.

"Meg? How about you love?"

Meg's eyes widened and she bit her lip again.

"I...I had an operation once," she said slowly and looked down.

"An operation? Whatever for? Was it serious?" Fletcher asked, his voice sounded curious, but his face looked very smug.

"It...Yes, it was serious, I had an accident." Meg closed her eyes lightly.

Nobody knew about that night, not even Chloe, and she wasn't about to let the whole Wizarding world know.

"Alright then. Albus? Your turn." Gavin said quickly, sensing Meg's discomfort.

"No- Wait a second. What happened in this accident? Did anyone get hurt badly?" Professor Fletcher said, putting up his hand to hush Gavin.

Meg frowned slightly. She didn't like the tone in which he was speaking to her with. Meg looked closely at the Professor, there was something rather strange about him, whenever he spoke to any of them he seemed to know more about them than the student would like.

"It was nothing. I survived. End of." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She hadn't snapped like that to anyone before. But she also didn't want to be reminded of what had happened that night, though thanks to the Professor it was all coming back to her.

"_Alright then. _Albus, your next," Gavin repeated.

Meg had leaned back on the chair and couldn't see how concerned he looked. She didn't want to look up and see everyone's curious eyes on here.

"I can't swim."

"Really? Why haven't you ever tried to learn?"Asked Fletcher. He was still looking at Meg with his beady eyes.

Albus frowned. "Who said I haven't tried?"

Fletcher's eyes snapped off of Meg and he looked at Albus, his eyes widened a fraction on an inch.

"I was only assuming, by the way you had said it. So you have tried?"

"No. I haven't."

Silence fell at the table. The food disappeared and reappeared but this time with deserts. Meg leaned forward and put some pudding onto her plate. Conversations started around the table, but Meg did not include herself with any of them. She ate her pudding in silence and drank her coffee in silence. After she had finished she wiped her hands on a tissue and leaned her head onto her palm. She didn't feel in the mood for socialising anymore. Meg had this problem which was if she was happy one minute, it only took a small thing to bring her down and her mood is changed instantly. All she could think about was the car cra-

_No. I won't think of it. I will smile and pretend I'm alright. _

A tapping on her arm brought her out of her thoughts. Slowly she turned her head to Albus and looked at him without an expression.

"Did you want something?"

"Not really. Only wanted to ask you if you wanted to go outside for a bit, it looks like you need the fresh air."

Meg thought so too. "But I can just up and go by myself, I'd look mad, I'll just wait till this thing is over," she shrugged and turned forwards again.

"No! What I meant was you go outside with me."

For the first time since they arrived at the hotel Albus looked slightly sheepish and embarrassed. Meg bit the inside of her gum.

"Sure thing. I think I'll need someone to stop me from jumping in front of a train anyway, even if it is _you," _she laughed and smiled. "I'm not sure how we're going to be able to just leave the hall though."

Albus chuckled. "Alright, leave this to me."

Meg watched as he leaned over to tell Fletcher something. He pointed over to Meg at one point. She only heard a few words which were 'get something' and 'be back soon.' Fletcher looked a bit annoyed but he nodded anyway.

Albus patted her hand and they both stood up, earning glances from everyone. Gavin raised an eyebrow at Meg and she mouthed to him 'need some fresh air,' then smiled slightly. He nodded and continued eating his apple pie.

Once they had walked outside the hotel, Meg gasped as the cold air hit her, shivered and wrapped her arms around her torso. She looked to the floor and they stood in silence for a moment, before Albus suddenly took his blazer off and put it on her shoulders.

"You're obviously colder than I am," he said.

"Thank you," she smiled at him, slightly confused as to why he was abruptly being so nice to her.

"Don't take it personally, I'm only being polite," he replied and Meg's smile fell from her face.

_Spoke too soon. _

Meg rolled her eyes and looked away. Silence fell once again and Albus coughed awkwardly.

"What happened back there?"

"What do you mean?"

Albus' eyes narrowed and he rubbed he licked his lips.

"I mean with Fletcher."

Meg sighed. She knew exactly what he meant.

"Do I have to talk about it?"

"No."

"Then I won't."

"But I'd like to know."

Meg laughed. "So I have to tell you just because you'd 'like' to know?" She raised an eyebrow.

His jaw clenched. "No. I'm just curious. I want to know about it. I want to know about you."

Meg frowned in confusion and even Albus seemed surprised at his own words. _Why does he want to know about _me?

"I don't understand?"

"I don't either."

They looked at each other for a moment. Their eyes locked.

_They are very green. Avery pretty green. _

Albus laughed. "What?"

Meg's eyes widened and she blushed. She didn't realise she had said that out loud.

"I meant your eyes, they're green," she said quietly. She bit her lip and looked down.

Albus chuckled again and lifted her head to face his with a finger.

"You said they were pretty too."

"I did not."

"You did too."

She crossed her arms and pouted, which made him smirk.

"Whatever."

"Your eyes are pretty too."

Meg looked up to him and bit her lip to stop herself from grinning at the blush that was creeping onto his cheeks.

"You don't have to lie to me to be polite, Mr. Potter."

"But I'm not lying."

Meg laughed. "Of course you are my eyes are utterly dull. And anyway I'd rather you just say the truth instead of-

Meg was caught off guard and interrupted with Albus' lips suddenly on hers. _Kissed twice today. _She thought. _Who would've thought it'd happen to me?_ She wanted to pull away; she knew it was wrong of her to like the feeling of his lips, his soft, tender lips, she knew she was almost being whore-ish by kissing back after getting with Gavin only that evening, but she couldn't stop herself. His lips worked on hers in ways she hadn't ever dreamed of. Her hands lost themselves in his hair and his hands gripped onto her waist tightly.

After what seemed like hours they pulled apart and Meg stumbled out of his arms, almost tripping over his blazer that must've fell off of her shoulders.

He was looking at her, breathing heavily and his hair was a complete mess, his shirt all creased from where she had grabbed it.

The realisation of what she had done hit her and she felt like crying.

"I'm sorry; I don't know why I did it...I just-

Meg didn't listen to what he was saying but pushed past him straight to the staircase, ignoring Albus who was now calling for her, saying her name over and over.

She didn't listen, but took her heels off and ran all the way up to the top, she didn't care if Albus was following her, she'd get to the top before him anyway; she _had _done cross country for 5 years.

Once she got to their room she tried opening the door but let out a sob as she remembered Gavin had the key and her wand was inside. Defeated, she turned around and slide down the door and put her head in her hands, her heels somewhere on the stairs where she had dropped and cried silently, feeling utterly hopeless.

* * *

_:o _


	5. Fifth

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Meg's eyes fluttered open to the sound of keys dropping to the floor and someone swearing. For a second she didn't know why her head was on the floor and that she could only see a pair of worn out sneakers, but then she remembered and sniffed, not being able to hold in the tears. With her eyes closed she didn't see who placed their arms around her and picked her up bridal style. She didn't need to open her eyes though, she knew who it was.

"Hey, hey, don't cry. What happened?" Gavin whispered softly, placing her down on her bed.

After a short moment she felt the bed sink slightly and could feel Gavin's breath on her face. She closed her eyes more tightly. She didn't want him next to her, but knew she deserved the guilt she was feeling. Opening her eyes slowly, her gaze fell upon a very worried looking Gavin whose eyebrows were scrunched together. At the sight of her eyes finally open he smiled slightly, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Meg, what happened?" His voice not was not as soft as before.

Meg bit her lip.

"Did this have something to do with Albus?"

Again, no response. Gavin sighed.

"Okay, I get it; you don't want to talk about it. I'm only asking because I was worried."

"I know Gavin," her voice sounded dry, and very quiet. "I'd like to change now."

He frowned, but nodded and left the room, picking up his blazer from the floor before leaving.

Once he had gone, Meg buried her face into the pillow and cried some more. She had no idea what to do. Should she tell him? What would he say? He would definitely ask her if she kissed back. But she didn't only kiss back, she liked it too. She couldn't blame it on Albus, either, though he had no right to kiss her like that.

Slowly, she had a quick shower and dried her hair, tying it up in a bun. She slipped on her underwear and pyjama shorts with a simple tank top. After getting into bed and making herself comfortable, she decided she'd think more on what she'd do in the morning, now all she wanted to do was sleep all her troubles away.

Just before she closed her eyes properly she heard a light knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she said.

Gavin walked in, wearing only tracksuit bottoms, with a slightly sheepish look on his face. Meg forbid herself from looking at his torso, not feeling like she had the right to, but quickly took a quick glance and she blushed slightly.

"Meg? Sorry to bother you but...well I- uh...could I sleep...with you tonight? N-not like _sleeping _with you, but just sleeping?" He scratched the back of his neck nervously.

Meg looked at him and nodded. "Of course." She didn't feel like the reason as to why he wanted to spend the night with her bothered her at all.

Gavin smiled and slipped under the covers with her and held onto her hand.

"Night, Gavin," she said quickly and turned so that her back faced him.

"Night? Look, Meg, what happened? You can tell me, you know."

"I can't!"

There was silence and Meg coughed to hide her sobs.

"Why not? What did Albus do to you?"

"He didn't _do _anything."

"Then why can't you tell me?"

"Because I'm scared of...of what'll happen if I do," she confessed.

"Whatever it is Meg, I won't be angry at you, I never could," he said softly.

"Yes you will!" She was in tears now. "I did something awful, Gavin."

He reached out and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her shoulder.

"You'd do better if you told me, Meg."

Meg let out a shaky breathe and turned to face him, surprised at how close they were. Their breaths seemed to merge as one when they breathed out. He kissed her forehead and smiled.

"When...when Albus and I walked out the hotel, we talked for a bit, well talked isn't really the right word, bickered is. We bickered and then he said he wanted to get to know me. I then foolishly said that his eyes were nice, he told me mine were and when I refused the compliment he kissed me."

Gavin's face changed from smiling, to frowning then finally to confused.

"Did you kiss back?"

"Gavin, I wouldn't be crying if I hadn't."

He let go of her hand and frowned, which only made her sob even more.

"Look, I understand if you want me to sleep on the floor, or not want to see me again, I'm just confused and-

"Do you like him?"

Meg frowned. "What?"

"I asked you a question."

"I...I don't know myself. When I'm around you I feel pretty, beautiful, _happy, _but when Albus kissed me I only felt like I needed more, I didn't feel attracted to him at all."

Now that Meg thought about it, it was true. When she was kissing Albus she wasn't doing it because she felt physically attracted to him, but sexually, and she felt like she wanted what they were doing, not Albus himself.

Gavin looked at her and seemed deep in thought.

"So what you're saying is when you're with me, you want to be with _me_, but when you're with Albus you want...?"

"Yes. Exactly."

Gavin smirked slightly and moved quickly so that he was hovering above her. He dipped his head down so that his lips were just touching her neck and placed them on there softly. Meg bit her tongue from sighing out loud.

"Are you sure about that?"

He looked into her eyes and blew gently on her lips, making Meg close her eyes and let out a tiny gasp.

"I can't hear you," she could _hear_ the smirk on his lips.

Meg opened her mouth but the only thing that came out was a sigh as Gavin nibbled on her earlobe.

"Y-yes. I'm sure," she opened her eyes.

Gavin raised an eyebrow. "Well, we'll see about that," he whispered slowly into her ear and kissed her jaw line, making his way to her lips.

He deliberately skipped her lips and she groaned which made him laugh.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understood that," his fingers found their way to the bottom of her tank top and he traced circles onto the skin there.

He was teasing her and she knew he was enjoying himself. Meg smirked and decided to play along with it.

"Oh, I think you did," she said, letting the words drip off of her lips.

Gavin grabbed her hands and placed them above her head, lowering his face over hers.

She looked at his lips and licked her own. They were so close but still too far for her own liking.

Much to Meg's delight, he slowly blew on her lips again and licked them before finally kissing her so softly that Meg swore she could've melted into a puddle of jelly right there.

She kissed him back, just as slowly and itched to pull her fingers through his hair. He smiled against her lips at her attempt to loosen his grip on her.

"Not too fast, my love."

He kissed her again but this time his fingers trailed down her arms slowly and to her tank top again, up her shirt and right beneath her bra. Meg gasped from how cold his hands were and Gavin took this as an opportunity and slipped his tongue inside her mouth, letting it explore every nock and cranny in there before battling with her tongue. She hadn't even dreamed of doing anything like this with a boy, but wasn't complaining. She moaned as his tongue grazed the bottom of her top lip and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, wanting him closer to her.

He parted from her lips and held on tightly to her torso. "You still sure?"

Meg shook her hair out of her face and laughed lightly. "Yes."

Gavin looked almost upset and seemed even more determined to make her crack now. _His Slytherin is showing, _she thought.

Roughly, he kissed her again and let his hands move even higher to her breasts. She moaned and let her head fall backwards, which made him kiss her neck till he found her soft spot and bite down gently, making her whisper his name over and over.

She didn't care that he was now pulling her top off and unhooking her bra strap. She also didn't care about what was probably going to happen. But all that she did care about was they she wanted him in every way right now.

It wasn't until she felt the cold air hit her bare chest that she opened her eyes and blushed. He was looking at her like she was some sort of art piece at a museum and she subconsciously covered her chest, not feeling as bold as she was a minute ago. He put his hand on her arm and stopped her.

"Don't. You're beautiful."

Meg looked up at him and blushed. Gavin moved down to kiss her stomach and tugged at her shorts slightly.

"Meg, are you sure about this?"

She met his eyes and nodded, too deep in bliss to even think about answering with anything else. She closed her eyes but opened them after realising Gavin had stopped. He had moved and was now lying next to her with his elbow propped up and his head on his palm.

"Sorry Meg, you're not thinking straight," he tapped her head twice and chuckled.

She pouted and crossed her arms, turning her back on him and feeling slightly annoyed, though she knew he was right. He laughed again and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I seem to have achieved what I wanted, more even, so you still want Albus for _that?" _

Meg rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you did all of that just for the answer you wanted to hear. You enjoyed yourself just as much as I did."

"I'll take that as a no, then."

She pulled his arm off of her and moved to the end of the bed, making him laugh even louder.

"But you're right; I _did _enjoy myself watching _you _enjoy yourself."

Meg bit her lip and blushed; glad he couldn't see her cheeks. She turned around to face him and he pulled the bed covers properly over them, wrapping his arms tightly around her. They stayed in a comfortable silence for a while with her head on his chest.

Quietly, Meg said: "Gavin...Why...Why did you want to sleep next to me?" She traced circles onto his chest, not wanting to make him snap at her.

He sighed and nuzzled his head onto her hair. "It's stupid," he mumbles. "You'll think I'm such a child."

Meg shook her head. "I swear I won't laugh."

Gavin lifted his head to meet her eyes.

"I'm afraid of heights."

Meg's mouth formed the shape of an 'O'. That's why he was so anxious about being on the top floor!

"So you wanted to be with me because...?"

"I haven't slept on a floor above the ground since I was 6, my bedroom is on the bottom floor of my home, and whenever I do sleep a level up, which is very rare, I'm always with my mum."

He blushed and hid his face in her hair again.

Meg ran her fingers through his hair and lifted his head up.

"Gavin, to have a fear is never something you should be ashamed, you just have to embrace it, find a way around it or...well, live with it," she smiled kindly at him.

She knew exactly what it was like to fear something. To fear something so much that it rattles the mind and racks through your body like waves.

He nodded, giving her a silent thank you and she kissed the bottom of his neck.

"It's only fair I get something in return for telling you that."

Meg looked up at him. "What do you want?"

"Why did you need an operation? What happened in that accident?"

Her eyes widened and she put her head down, surprised he had remembered that. She closed her eyes tightly.

"I...I was in car crash, when I was 7."

She felt him rub her back and she closed her eyes even tighter- if that was possible. She hated having to even think about what happened in that storm-

-_Stop it-_

"I needed...My leg was-

She sniffed and mentally cursed as a tear fell down her cheek. Gavin reacted straight away and kissed the top of her head.

"Stop talking. You don't have to tell me. I don't care anymore."

Meg nodded and wiped her tears away. "Thank you."

He smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Can we go to sleep now?" Her eye lids suddenly felt 10 times heavier than before.

"Yes. We can," he laughed. "Night, my love."

Meg beamed and laid her head onto his chest. "Good night, Gavin."

...

Opening her eyes, Meg yawned quietly and was almost startled when she realised someone was holding her. Her eyes widened in panic but sighed in relief when she saw it was Gavin and laughed at herself, it wasn't every morning that Meg woke up in a boy's arms.

Smiling at Gavin's sleeping face, she gently wriggled out of his arms and picked up her discarded clothes from last night, her cheeks heating up just at the thought of them and quickly hopped into the shower.

After wrapping a towel around her body she walked back into her room and quickly put on her underwear, a pair of tracksuit bottoms, a bra and an oversized jumper. She loved loose clothing, she found them so cosy.

"Morning," she heard Gavin say sleepily from her bed.

Meg turned her head and sent him a smile. "Good morning, hurry up and get dressed, I want my breakfast."

Gavin groaned and dropped the bed coves over his head. "5 more minutes."

She giggled and jumped onto the bed, sitting on what she thought was his back.

"No. I'm hungry. Or I could just leave without you...?"

"Fine. Fine! I'm up," he shoved her off and almost ran to the bathroom.

Meg laughed. "Be quick! I'm giving you 10 minutes tops!"

"You'll see me in less than 5!"

She rolled her eyes and did her bed, and then wandered around the hotel room, feeling bored. She spotted the door of Gavin's room slightly ajar and thought about taking a look. It wouldn't be invading privacy, as it wasn't his _actual _room, so she quickly walked in before she thought about it any longer, though she still did feel it was slightly wrong.

Looking around, she laughed softly, they had only been there a day and he had already made it seem like it had been his room forever. There were clothes on the floor, his suitcase still open and not unpacked; his guitar was propped up against the wall with his broom next to it. It had completely slipped Meg's mind that he played as a Seeker on the Slytherin team. His Quidditch jersey was lying on the floor, with the words 'Cooper' on it and the number 6 underneath it. One thing that stood out to her was that the blinds were closed, and it looked as if he hadn't even touched them since they arrived. Her head snapped to a small hoot and realised that a black owl with beady yellow eyes was staring her down from the cage it was in on the floor.

She ignored it and spotted a frame on the table next to his bed and picked it up, smiling at it. It was of his family. He had one of his sisters on his shoulders with the other in his mother's arms, and his father had an arm around her waist.

"What're you doing?"

Meg jumped and put the picture down, turning around to face a still wet and shirtless Gavin with a sheepish look on her face. He was rubbing a towel onto his head and smirking at her.

"Well the door was open and I was curious? I didn't go through your things or anything," she said quickly. Her eyes kept on trailing down his chest and Meg had to look away to stop herself.

_He's doing this on purpose, _she thought.

"Oh I don't mind," he shrugged and walked in, getting a plain t-shirt out of his suitcase.

Meg nodded and stood there, feeling a little like a deer in headlights, once he had put his top on he held onto her hand and pulled her out of the room, they slipped on a pair of trainers and started to climb down the many flight of stairs to the bottom floor.

"So what happened after I left yesterday?"

"Nothing really, it finished about half an hour after you left, and all he did was ask us questions. Something doesn't feel right about him, don't you think?"

Meg nodded but kept quiet. After staying silent for a little while she asked him something that had been bothering her all night.

"Gavin...Why aren't you angry with me?" She whispered to him.

To her he had the right to be angry with her and not want to speak to her again, but instead he was just showering her with more love.

He looked down at her and smiled a little. "I told you last night, I couldn't ever be angry at you."

Meg felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter and she blushed.

"But most people would be angry if someone did the same thing I did to you."

"It's because I know I have you wrapped around my finger, Potter has nothing on me," he shrugged and laughed. "I trust you."

She laughed with him and rolled her eyes, swinging their interlocked hands back and forth.

"I trust you too," she smiled at him and pecked his lips.

He opened his eyes and gaped at her. "That all I get?"

Meg giggled. "Yes."

Gavin reached his arms out to pick her up but she slipped away from his hands and started to run down the rest of the stairs. She heard him running after her and she laughed, knowing he'd be too slow. She jumped two at a time and finally jumped down onto the ground floor. He somehow ended up right behind her, making her startle and threw her over his shoulder.

Laughing, she cried, "Gavin put me down!"

"Say Gavin is the sexiest boy I've ever known and the best kisser to live!"

"Never!"

"They you're never coming down."

"Fine, fine! Gavin is the sexiest boy I've ever known and the best kisser to live!"

He put her down and she felt the wall behind her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his lips softly, biting on his bottom lip slightly. Smirking, she felt his mouth open as a small moan escaped his lips and she slid her tongue in there.

His hands found there way on the back of her thighs and she jumped, quickly wrapped her legs around his waist. Dragging her fingers through his hair she rolled her eyes back as he kissed her neck, gasping quietly.

"Having fun?"

Both teenagers let go of each other abruptly at the sound of the voice and turned to face an amused looking Albus Potter standing there. Meg saw something else in his eyes too, something like-

"Maybe we were. Spying on us, Potter?" Gavin said, glaring at him slightly.

Meg didn't think they were friends anymore.

"Definitely not. I was just heading back to my room when I saw you two," he said, keeping his eyes on Gavin, it was as if Meg wasn't even there.

"Well, continue. Don't let us stop you."

They stared at each other and finally Albus started walking up the stairs. Meg let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding in.

"Come on," he said and they walked into the dining room hand in hand.

The round table was there just like last night and the room was empty save for themselves and a rather upset looking Sylvia. Meg frowned and sat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked her softly.

Sylvia looked up from her bowl of cereal to meet Meg's eyes with her own, watery ones. She pulled Sylvia into a hug and kept her there, rubbing her back gently. After Sylvia had seemed to cry out every tear she had in her she pulled away from the hug and rubbed her eyes.

"Sorry, I must look like a right fool," she said, her voice hoarse.

Meg shook her head. "No, you don't. What happened?"

"John...John and I had a fight."

Now, if this was anyone else, Meg would've told tem that it was just one silly fight and that she shouldn't worry about it, but this was Sylvia Rolfe talking about John Clarke. They never fought. Everyone in the school knew them because they were so in love and always by each other's side.

"About what?" Meg held onto her hand.

"It was something stupid, I had just blurted out why he hadn't told me that he couldn't walk on a stair case with anyone else on it and he just snapped at me and started yelling! I got scared and yelled back and it went from there. He slept on the sofa and still isn't talking to me," she let out a sob.

"Sylvia, this is you and John we're talking about here, you'll make up sooner or later, just talk to him about it, gently." Meg smiled sympathetically at her friend and patted her hand.

Sylvia seemed to think about it for a moment. "Alright, thanks Meg," she hugged her again and seemed to spot Gavin sitting next to Meg.

As she pulled away she whispered into Meg's ear. "So you two are together, then?"

Meg rolled her eyes and Sylvia laughed. "Yes."

Sylvia eyed Gavin up and down, who was almost innocently eating his toast, made an OK sign with her hand and winked at Meg. She laughed and waved as Sylvia slipped out the hall, probably going to speak with John.

They ate their breakfast in a comfortable silence and when they finished hand in hand they walked back to their room. Meg was starting to wish the hotel had lifts. Upon opening the door to their room Meg spotted a slip of paper on the floor. She picked it up and read it aloud.

_Gavin + Meg,_

_Please meet me in the hall which is somewhere on the floor you're on, it won't be hard to find, at 12 o'clock noon. I will be telling you about the test you will be doing in three days time. _

_See you then,_

_Prof. Fletcher_

"Maybe this time we'll actually get some useful information. All he ever tells us is that the test will be 'different' to a normal one, whatever that means," Gavin shrugged and sat down on the couch.

Meg, still looking at the piece of paper, sat opposite him and crossed a leg over the other.

"What do you think we'll be doing?" She asked him, finally raising her head off of the paper.

Gavin shrugged again. "It could be anything, from jumping off a cliff to watching each other burn."

Meg's eyes widened, she hadn't thought it would involve anything to do with hurting themselves of one another.

Gavin laughed at her facial expression. "I'm kidding, but I don't know, I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see, I just can't wait till all of this is over, really, I'm starting to miss the castle a lot," he laughed and scratched his eyebrow, something Meg realised he did often.

"I do too, I miss my friends," she said and bit her lip. She wondered what they were doing right now, it was a Sunday, so Amanda was probably playing Quidditch, Chloe might've been doing some last minute homework in the common room and Michael would be sitting opposite her, reading a book and slightly amused, after all he'd done all his homework the day they'd got it. She then had a sudden urge to talk to them.

Meg sighed in frustration. "I wish I had brought my owl!"

"You can use mine?"

She smiled. "Really? You don't mind?"

Gavin shook his head. "Not at all, Shadow is in my room whenever you need her," he returned her smile and looked at his watch, yawning.

"If you need me, I'll be sleeping; it's only just gone 10."

Meg nodded and rushed to get a piece of parchment and the quill she had brought with her, sitting at the table in her room she dipped the quill into the ink pot and started to write.

_Dear Chloe, Amanda and Michael,_

_Sorry I didn't owl you sooner, it's been so crazy here. I know you have lots of questions and I'm going to try and fit everything in this letter, we start the test in three days!_

_So how has everyone been? Please don't tell me you've missed me _too _much! Kidding, kidding. But I won't deny that I've missed you three very much. I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts. _

_I'm sure the whole school was watching us last night. Did I look alright? Sound alright? I didn't look stupid at any point, did I? You know how much I hate the camera being on me. _

_We haven't had much information on the test, you know the same things I do, that it's not the kind of test you do at school and that it'll be on the mind. I hope I do alright; otherwise I'd look like a right fool. Professor Fletcher is definitely something. To be honest I find him rather odd..._Creepy _odd. _

_I've got something to tell you; this is mainly towards Chloe and 'Manda, so Michael, you can look away now and continue reading your book or complaining about the weather. _

_You know Gavin? Gavin Cooper? Well, I'm not sure if it was obvious last night but we're sort of a...'thing' now. We're boyfriend and girlfriend. I know exactly what're thinking! How weird is that? You wouldn't expect me to have one, would you?_

_But anyway, we seem to be getting on pretty well, and it all seems alright really. _

_I hope I see you three soon! I miss you all very much!_

_Reply to me as soon as you can. _

_Love always,_

_Meg. _

Meg put down her quill and read through the letter once more for any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors for her own sake; if Michael saw one misplaced comma she wouldn't hear the end of it.

When she was happy with it she tiptoed into Gavin's room, and stared at him sleeping for a bit. He had one arm under the pillow, the other on top of the covers and he seemed to be smiling in his sleep. She wondered what he was dreaming of and Meg couldn't stop the smile that crept onto her face and wished she had a camera with her, his face was too adorable for Meg to forget.

Finally, her gaze left him and she walked up to the owl, Meg remembered he had called it Shadow, and slowly opened her cage, scared it would start to squawk at her. Alas, it did and she panicked, afraid the noise would wake Gavin up, quickly glancing at him and she rolled her eyes. He hadn't even stirred.

After rolling the letter up and sealing it, she waited for the owl to put out her leg but all she did was stare at Meg. She couldn't believe she was finding an _owl _intimidating.

After about a minute it finally stuck her leg out, as if she was being forced into it and Meg slowly tied the letter to the foot, opening the window so that it could fly out, once it had flown away, Meg leaned out the window and admired the view. She could barely see the ground from how high they were. She thought of Gavin and how uncomfortable he must've felt when he realised they were at the top. Sighing, she leaned her head on her palm and closed her eyes as the wind brushed her hair around her face.

She didn't know how long she was there for, but it must've been a while. She frowned and moved her head to the side, hearing something- or someone breathe in and out rather heavily. After a moments thought, she realised it was coming from inside the room and, horrified, quickly closed the window. She looked over at him and ran to pull him into a hug, letting him bury his head into her hair.

"How long have you been awake for?" She whispered to him.

"A while, I watched you at first, you looked so relaxed, but then I realised the window was open and all I could see was the blue sky and then I remem-

"Shh," Meg placed a finger on his lips. "It's okay, you're okay, you're _safe, _Gavin."

Her heart broke when she heard him sob and she held him tighter; he must have experienced something very awful for him to be so afraid of heights. She had never seen a boy cry before.

When he finally pulled back he smiled weakly and Meg kissed his forehead.

...

"You ready?"

Meg looked herself over in the mirror once more and nodded, holding onto Gavin's outstretched hand, the slip of paper Fletcher had given them in the other one. After Gavin felt a bit better, they talked some more and decided to get ready for the meeting they had at 12.

They walked and walked and walked around their floor and after about 10 minutes Gavin almost gave up before Meg spotted a huge door, identical to the one on the bottom floor and they both walked in, stopping dead in their tracks because of what they saw before them.

The room was huge in width and length, almost the size of the Great Hall, but the height of it was double that. Meg couldn't see the ceiling. Not that she was looking for it anyway. Her eyes were stuck on what was opposite her.

A window, taking up the entire wall opposite them, in width, length and height, making it able to see everything, was there. There wasn't much to look at though, only sky, sky and more sky. But it wasn't the same blue Meg was looking at under an hour ago. It was grey and raining and it looked like there was a thunder storm was going on. Only when the sky was lit up with a bolt of lightening did Meg realise they were in complete darkness, and she could hear the thundering sound of raining belting onto the rooftop, almost so loud it was deafening. Meg couldn't move or speak. She was frozen on the spot and too terrified to get out the room.

She heard Gavin's breathing become heavier, rustier and wished she had the will power to grab onto him to shield him from what was opposite them, not only for his sake, but for hers.

The thunder storm outside was getting worse, trees were getting pulled down, she could hear the howling of the wind, like a wolf in the night, and the occasional roll of thunder and flash of lightening.

The memories were all rushing back to her, this time to forcefully for her to stop them.

"_Mummy Mummy! I'm hungry, are we home yet?" _

_-Stop it!-_

Meg sat down on the floor and put her head in-between her legs, crying so hard and so scared that she felt the tremors rack through her body like a wave. She closed her eyes tight and let the memory wash over her.

"_We'll be home soon, my darling. Look outside your window, it's going to take a while," her mother replied to the impatient 7 year old. _

_Little Meg pulled at one of her curls, pouted but looked out her window anyway, letting a small gasp escape her lips. It was raining so hard that the cars window wipers weren't fast enough to wipe the screen of water and the ground was covered with about 5 cm of rain water now. Meg looked up at the sky and gasped loudly this time. It was as if the sky was sucking them all up. It was dark, grey and black, Meg jumped and clamped her ears shut as a loud clap of thunder echoed through the motor way into London and she let out a small scream as everywhere was lit up by a strike of lightening. _

"_Hey now, Meggie, no need to be scared, it's only natural," Meg heard her father's soft voice come from the front of the car. _

"_But daddy, it's so loud," she whispered to him. _

_Her mother turned to face her and sent a loving smile her way._

"_Baby, put your coat over your head, that might muffle the noise, and you might even fall asleep, then by the time you wake up we'll be home!" _

_Meg laughed at her mother's goofy face and did what she told her, but still found the noise too loud, though she pretended to fall sleep, not wanting to bother her parents any longer. _

"_Adam, what time do you think we'll be back?" She heard her mother speak to her father in that soft, quiet tone. She always spoke to him like that. _

"_Hard to say, Amy love, but I can guarantee we won't be home for another 5 hours." _

_Her mother sighed and she felt the car drive forward slightly. _

"_Poor Meg is obviously scared out of her wits, do you think you could pull over so I can go to her and see if she's alright?"_

"_Amy no, it's too dangerous to stop now, besides if we do, we won't be back till tomorrow afternoon."_

"_But Adam did you see her face!"_

"_I did!"_

_Silence fell and her father kept driving. Meg jumped as another roll of thunder roared above her head and she shivered in her seat. Now the car was moving fast, too fast. _

"_Amy, come on, think logically alrig-_

"_Adam watch out!"_

_Her mother screamed so loud Meg felt a shiver run down her spine and the sound of tyres screeching on the ground filled her ears. The car seemed to hang in mid air for a split second before slamming down on the ground. The glass sprayed out everywhere and Meg screamed, screamed so loud and for so long her throat was sore. There were screams all around her too. She couldn't breathe and panicked, but quickly undid her seatbelt and when she tried to move from her seat she could only let out another blood curling shriek and felt hot tears run down her cheeks. _

"_Mummy! Mummy! My leg is bleeding, Mummy! Mummy help me!" She yelled over and over, but she didn't ever get a response and she couldn't even see her parents properly, the seats of the car was covering her vision. She looked to her right and realised they were upside down. Her hand was covered with blood and she spotted a few glass shards in it, letting out another sob. Soon, the pain got too much for little Meg, and she closed her eyes, letting darkness wash over her to the sound of sirens in the distance. _

_She woke up the next day in a hospital bed and was told that she was in a car accident, but she didn't care what she was in, all she wanted was her mummy. _

Meg gasped and was brought back to the present by the sound of metal grinding and she realised that the windows were being covered by some sort of metal curtain. Slowly, she stood up and sniffed, wiping her tears away. She looked to her right and saw Gavin sitting down, leaning against the wall with his head in his hands, sobbing quietly. Instantly, her heart broke into a million pieces and she ran to him, pulling him into her arms for the second time that day. She rocked him back and forth and cried too, for his pain and for hers, for being reminded of the night she would do anything to forget.

"I know...I know what we're going to be tested on," he said, his voice hoarse. He looked up at Meg and she wiped his tears away.

"Fear."

...

* * *

_Tell me what you think!_


End file.
